I'm super mega excited today, because not only do we have an amazing post full of Drag Race nail art, it's done by one of my favourite bloggers (and favourite people in general) out there, the wonderful Emily of Very Emily! We've bonded over many things, including a love of RuPaul's Drag Race, which has led to this phenomenal guest post today! Prepare yourselves, because this is gonna get incredible!

Hi everyone! I'm so honoured to be here on Jae's blog today! I'm Emily aka Very Emily. Jae and I got to know each other recently through our mutual friend Christine from Serenity Nails. We quickly hit it off, especially after sharing our love for RuPaul's Drag Race. Jae, Kellie from Kellie Gonzo and myself are in a group chat on Facebook where we discuss each episode. I look forward to those chats so much every week as Drag Race is my favourite reality show of all time. I get so excited and happy while watching it and it's even more fun that I get to share my excitement with Jae and Kellie! This season has been hands down my favourite so far, I even called it before the season started that this would be the best season of all time and I completely stand by that statement. The skill level has been through the roof this year! YASSSS!

This week's episode was called Book Ball and the remaining five girls were challenged to create not one but three looks for the main challenge. We also saw the return of the puppets "cause everybody loves puppets!". For my nail looks looks I picked my inspiration from the main challenge. I actually ended up doing three looks inspired by my absolute favourite contestant, Kim Chi. She's been my favourite from before the show even started and I am SO thrilled to see her doing so well. To quote my boyfriend (who on occasion finds himself in the same room as me when I am watching the show and can't help but be entertained) "the other contestants do drag and Kim Chi does art". Not only is she truly an artist, I can totally relate to her love for food, struggles with insecurities, and her humour. She better go home with the crown! This post is basically an homage to Kim Chi so sit back and let's get this book ball rolling!

First up is the category Baby Drag Realness! Inspired by, themselves as a baby but in drag?! Yeah I didn't really get this challenge prompt either but we got to see the girls prancing around in some oversized red pumps which was pretty hilarious. Kim Chi was the only one out of the contestants that created a narrative that tied her three looks together and started off as a bean sprout.

For my first look I did a very simplified recreation of Kim Chi's look. I thought about incorporating the bean sprout headpiece and oversized red shoes but intentionally kept it simple and focused on the dress and XL pearl necklace. While her dress wasn't holographic, the fabric was super shiny so I wanted to spice it up a bit so I used my most HTF, and long discontinued polish (that I haven't worn in years because I use it so sparingly!), GOSH Holographic. The half pearls are from Born Pretty Store. I did not add top coat to avoid dulling the holo finish.

Here's the close-up, that holo is CRAY CRAY! None of the other holographic polishes I have come close to this, it truly is the ultimate silver holo. The formula is pretty weird though and similar to OPI Push And Shove. She's a little high maintenance this one.

The second category is... That's My Momma Realness! For this category they had to create looks inspired by their mommas. Kim Chi comes from a South Korean family and has a somewhat difficult relationship with her mom, who doesn't know she does drag. Her look showed a traditional Korean dress and was very compelling, she conveyed SO much emotion. ALL THE FEELS!

I had to include this stunning photograph by Adam Ouahmane who takes a lot of Kim Chi's photographs. If you head over to Kim Chi's website, all the photos are by Adam. Be prepared to be blown away by the artistry!

I chose to create a look inspired by the dandelions on her wig. A very simple and straight forward design. I started with Cirque Colors Memento Mori as my base then freehanded the dandelions using ORLY Instant Artist in Crisp White (a water-based striper). Finished with a matte top coat, Cirque Colors Matte Look.

I've never freehanded dandelions before so was feeling slightly intimidated, I originally planned to stamp this design but didn't own any plates that had what I was looking for so freehand it was! It didn't turn out as perfectly as I had wanted but in person they didn't look that bad.

The final category was Autobiographical Eleganza Extravaganza! The girls had to get really creative and create looks using paper and books! Kim Chi totally "embraced the material" and created this stunning paper pixelated dress with a gorgeous pea pod inspired headpiece. Blossoming from a bean sprout into a pea pod!

This is the look I came up with! I started with Cirque Colors Carpe Diem as my base, then freehanded a grid design using Lacquer Lust Mist to mimic the paper. Finished the look with pea pods and a pink flower using acrylic paint, before adding the final glossy top coat. I did this design on all ten fingers and hope I get to enjoy wearing it for the rest of the weekend!

That concludes my three RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 8 Book Ball, Kim Chi inspired looks. I really hope you I did well filling in for Jae today and continuing this series for her. Even if you don't watch Drag Race I hope you were able to enjoy the nail art looks and seeing the inspirations! Huge thank you to Jae for having me while she's off on the most epic trip of a lifetime. I hope you make some great memories!

OH. MY. GOD. I am utterly, completely, absolutely floored! I've been looking forward to seeing this since we first discussed the idea of doing this post and I am totally in love with every single look you did! Our weekly Drag Race chats with Kellie are always a highlight for me, it's so fun to chat with you girls every week about our favourite queens <3 I still can't believe you found time to do not one, but three amazing pieces of nail art for me! You're amazing xx